The second edition of the fair will be held on March 6 and 7

Leading companies such as Borco Höhns-Parry, Mastertent, Rational, The Foodtruck Factory and Welbilt have confirmed their participation at Food Truck Forum, which will hold its second edition at Bilbao Exhibition Centre on March 6 and 7, 2018. In the exhibition area of the event, which will be dedicated to companies that rent food trucks and specialised bodies, manufacturers and distributors of equipment, products and services, will also be present, in addition to other firms, such as Associação Street Food Portugal, Cars 1247, Convotherm, Food Truck BDN, Hazia – Seguridad Alimentaria, Merrychef, MMVV, Pontevan, S.P. Pymes, Serisan Comunicación Gráfica, Streettrucks, Vehiculostienda.com and Zingerlemetal. As a novelty, there will be a space within this exhibition area for “buying and selling” second-hand food trucks.

The only professional fair in the state dedicated to this type of catering will once again offer a “gastronomic space”, with a wide variety of street food products, and another for “talks and workshops”, which will strengthen its position as a meeting point for entrepreneurs and professionals. The programme will run over two days and will address the current situation of the sector in the country and its growth possibilities, as well as developments in other foreign markets, along with ideas and challenges that potentially apply here. Other topics of interest will be “The role of associations”, ”Setting up a food truck: type and legal, health and financial requirements”, “Inroads of food trucks in cities: benefits and options”, “PonteVan Project”, “From restaurant to food truck” and “Keys to setting up a successful event”.

For its part, and after last year’s success, the “Cooking the Street” recipes competition will be back to encourage the participation of local hoteliers to showcase their most outstanding creations and bring their experience, new proposals and flavours. In 2017, the first prize went to Benjamín Rodríguez, from the restaurant Dando la Brasa, with his creation “Sudado en tiniebla y en bolas!!” (Stew in shadows and balls!!). Second prize went to Javier Brichetto, from Mestizo Food Truck, for his recipe “Mollete chino de pato asado” (Chinese muffin with roast duck), while the winner of the third prize was Iván Siles, from Gure Toki Restaurant, thanks to his recipe “Sándwich de anguila” (Eel sandwich).

The overall assessment of the first edition was very positive. A total of 926 professionals, 36 % of them from outside the Basque Autonomous Community, visited the fair. The profile of Food Truck Forum visitors was mainly entrepreneurs, event organisers, food companies, chefs and hotel and catering establishments interested in the business opportunities offered by this sector. Food Truck Forum is jointly organised by Bilbao Exhibition Centre and the FoodTruckYa.com platform, with Rational and Welbilt as sponsors.